Fate
by Katkid
Summary: What would happen if the Digidestined were forced to turn evil? Completed! :-)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 1

_Slap, slap, slap…_.Hikari Kamiya's sneakered feet made a slapping sound against the wet pavement in Odaiba, Japan.It was early in the morning, hours before school would start and there was no traffic on the usually busy streets.

Taichi thought she was out of her mind, waking up at 5:00 am every morning just to go outside and run and had told her so when she'd asked him if he wanted to go running with her one day._Then again, _she reminded herself, _Taichi never was much of a morning person._

_ _

__Hikari didn't know exactly what it was that made her enjoy these morning runs so much.Maybe it was the fifteen minutes of solitude that allowed her just to think that made it so appealing to her, or maybe it was the beauty of watching the sunrise._Not much of a sunrise today, _she thought, looking to the horizon.The sun was hidden behind a thick blanket of dark clouds.It was a little chilly outside, too, and it wasn't just from the light sprinkling rain either.The air that filled her lungs with every breath was cold and brisk.

Closing her eyes gently, Hikari allowed herself to be lost in her thoughts.At least, she did so until the ground suddenly felt different under her feet.No longer were her sneakers making a slapping noise against wet pavement.Now they were making a sort of squishing noise against spongy earth.

Hikari snapped open her eyes in surprise and looked around.Although rain still sprinkled down from the heavens and thesun was still hidden, the road she had been running on was gone.She was now in the middle of an open field with no sign of the buildings she had been running by anywhere near.

Abruptly, she stopped running and looked around, fear beginning to nip at her._This is really weird, _she thought, looking around the field in confusion._Where am I?_This place…it seemed familiar, like she'd been here before, yet it seemed as thought it was not part of Earth.Then it hit her: the Digiworld.She was in the Digiworld, but how or why she had no idea.She along with Takeru, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori and all the other Digidestined's had saved this world little more than a year ago.

Something about the Digital World was different for Hikari, though.It appeared to be the same, but something in the air felt wrong, like there was something she should know that she did not.The feeling made her uncomfortable and she wanted badly to shout out for Gatomon or one of the other Digimon that had helped her and her friends to save this world, but for some reason no sound would leave her throat.

The sound of footsteps suddenly came to her and she shouted: "Hey!I'm over here!" hoping that it was maybe Tai or one of her friends._Maybe they'll know what's going on, _she thought.

No sooner had the thought entered her mind than a large, rough hand clamped over her mouth, smothering the scream of terror that ripped through her throat….

~*~

Yamato yawned heavily and rubbed his eyes.He hated getting up so early in the morning, but his band had a gig that evening and this was the only chance they would have to practice before.The weight of the guitar that he was carrying on his back felt immense and his eyes were so heavy he felt as though he was about to drop down to the cement and go to sleep.

_Almost there, _he thought as he turned a corner.And suddenly he was no longer on the sidewalk anymore.In fact, he was no longer in Japan anymore as far as he could tell._That _sure woke him up in a hurry.

"What—" he muttered as he quickly took in his surroundings.He was in a dense forest.The trees seemed to reach up into infinity and the air was misty.The ground he stood on was mushy and slippery with a thick layer of mud."This is crazy…am I in the Digiworld again?"

"It certainly appears to be so," a familiar voice replied.

"Koushiro?You're here, too?"

The red-haired boy stepped onto the muddied path beside him and nodded before adding: "this is quite strange, I must admit.I got here without using any type of Digiport at all.How about you?"

"I was just walking down the street and the next thing I knew I was here.Got any idea why?"

Koushiro shook his head."I can't figure it out.I was just picking up my laptop and suddenly I was transported here."

Yamato noticed that indeed, Koushiro was carrying his laptop in its case."Did you try checking the e-mail?" he inquired."You know, maybe one of the Digimon or Gennai sent an e-mail."

"I did after I got here.Nothing at all."

They were quiet for a moment until Yamato suddenly whispered: "did you hear that?"

Koushiro shook his head and inquired: "what?"

There was a very soft squishing noise."_That," _Yamato hissed.Another squishing noise."What is it?"

"Somebody's coming.I wonder who it—" but that was as far a Koushiro got before a strong hand slapped over his mouth.He had just enough time to glance over at Yamato, whose eyes were wide with horror and surprise and who also had a hand over his mouth, before losing consciousness.

~*~

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIING!The alarm clock raucously rang, forcing Daisuke out of a sound sleep.He fumbled for the switch without bothering to open his eyes.He couldn't find it and the alarm clock continued to blare._

Daisuke felt around for the alarm clock, getting a little annoyed with the loud noise, but still couldn't find it._That's weird, _he thought.Usually it wasn't that difficult to find the clock.And then it stopped.

He didn't think anything of the sudden silence—until he opened his eyes to a most unexpected sight—he was not in his bedroom or bed at all.He was lying on a pile of wet leaves beside a rapid river.The banks beside the raging waters were slippery with mud and the air was heavy with dew.

"Gah!" he cried out, sitting up quickly in his surprise.This was definitely not something you would expect to wake up to."No way," he murmured to himself."There is no _way_ this could be the Digiworld."But this certainly seemed to be the case.

He heard a footstep in the soft mud behind him and turned to face an incredibly tall man whose face was hidden by a black cloak.The man was bending down to him.

Daisuke panicked and quickly crawled backwards.Unfortunately, the swift action caused him to slip in the mud.He slid into the torrential waters and cried out in fear as the icy cold water hit him like a slap.When he opened his mouth, the cold water rushed in, making him choke.

The rushing water was roaring in his ears, but he could still hear the man back on the bank of the river cursing in anger.He was being turned around and around in the river and the current was too strong for him to swim against it._I've got to get out of here! _He desperately thought, kicking his legs to try and stay above the water.

He opened his mouth to cry for help, but this only caused him to choke on more of the water.And then he was pulled under the muddy water.He was turned around so many times he'd lost track of up and down, but it wasn't like it would help if he knew the difference, he couldn't swim against the river at all.

Something scraped against his shoulder and vaguely, Daisuke realized it was the riverbed._Oh, I'm at the bottom, _he thought.He suddenly felt lightheaded, as though the person in the river was somebody else._That's nice…_.

And that was the last thought he had before his eyes slid closed.


	2. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 2

Even before he opened his eyes, Ken Ichijouji knew he was lying on an icily cold cement floor.The coldness of the floor seemed to seep into him and fill him with a sense of dread.From far away, he could hear heavy machinery droning.Obviously, he was not in his bedroom.

Very slowly, he opened his eyes to stare up into a ceiling that looked as though it had mostly rotted away.There were heavy support beams made of metal that was in its first stages of rusting and they were crisscrossed helter-skelter to cover most of the ceiling.The few areas where the wood remained were blackened and teeming with worms.

He sighed in disgust before beginning to sit up on his elbows.A short, sharp pain shot through his head and made his arms collapse from under him.Though the pain had stopped being applied, it left him with a tingling feeling.It was when the tingling feeling began to reside that he noticed something trickling down the left side of his head.

_I'm bleeding, _he realized, quickly probing for the wound.It didn't take him long to find the place where the blood was escaping from his body.Right at his hairline above his left eyebrow was a deep gash.The wound burned when his fingers drifted over it and he quickly moved his hand away.

He decided to try and sit up again and did so slowly to avoid another paroxysm of pain.With incredible calmness, he scanned the room.He wasn't alone in the room.Takeru, Jyou, Sora and Iori were all in the room as well.The room itself was rather plain with three cement walls and a third wall composed of bars.

_What the hell is going on? _He wondered.

"Excellent question, glad you asked it," a voice in the corner of the room piped.

Ken whipped his attention to the corner behind him and gritted his teeth against the dull pain that went through his head.A very tall, lanky woman stepped from the shadows in the corner.She was dressed entirely in tones of green and had dark red hair.But the most noticeable thing about her was her penetrating green eyes.Or were they blue?Ken squinted and they were green again--then blue.And they seemed to be boring into him. The feeling gave him the creeps.Not to mention the fact that he had said nothing aloud to this woman.

"I didn't ask any question," Ken replied, unnerved by this woman's strange glare.

"Of course you did.You wanted to know 'what the hell was going on?' to use your specific words.And I can tell you."

Ken said nothing in response and the woman continued: "you'll be quite interested to know how it came about that you and all your little 'Digidestined' friends are now fighting for a force of evil."

The way the woman had spoken reminded Ken of the way he had acted when he was the Digimon Emperor.Cold, heartless, uncaring."Are we back in the Digital World?"

The woman smiled cruelly and answered: "I should have realized you would catch on sooner than anticipated.To answer your question, yes, this is the Digital World.And no, I am not a Digimon."

"I never asked if--"

"But that would have been your next question, I'm sure.And to clear up any confusion, I am not human.This goes far deeper than human and Digimon.Oh, yes, this reaches much deeper."

There was a noise from across the room and Ken looked across the room to see Jyou sit up and look around.

"As I was saying," the woman continued, completely unaffected by Jyou's awakening, "this reaches much farther than human and Digimon.I cannot explain my existence.I cannot explain the existence of any of the beings like myself.We simply _are._"

"What do you want with us?" Jyou demanded from across the room.

The woman held up her hand for silence and continued, ignoring Sora as she woke up and looked around, confused."As I stated before, beings like I simply are.All beings like myself are inherently evil.

"There are, however, two types of us.There are the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians.As I stated before, both are most certainly evil.Both strive to take over your world along with this one."

"Which one are you?" Sora inquired.

"Excuse me?"

"Which one are you?A Droglidite or a Ghoulinthian?"

The woman held her head high and proudly answered: "I am a Ghoulinthian.The very idea of being associated with a Droglidite is disgusting!"

"Wait a minute, you both want to take over the Digital World and Earth but you're against each other?" Iori, who had apparently woken during the woman's explanation, inquired.

"That is correct.I suppose you could call us…rivals, although the title is far too good for the Droglidites.Now I shall explain how this relates to all of you.We are not all-powerful.Of course we are strong, but you humans have proven yourselves to be very strong indeed.With you on our side, we are stronger and nothing stands in our way of taking over both worlds, save those ridiculous Droglidites.You must help us."

"And if we refuse?" questioned Takeru, who had awoken as the woman was speaking.

"We will _make _you side with us.And you don't want that, trust me.Good day."With that, she turned and began to disappear back into the shadows.

"Wait!" Iori shouted after her.

The woman turned and faced them, slightly transparent.

"What about our other friends?What did you do to them?"

Even when her face was half-transparent, the former Digidestined could see the look of rage that crossed the woman's face."The Droglidites have them," she spat as she disappeared into the shadows.

~*~

Voices were coming to Daisuke from far away:_"he's coming to."_

_ _

_"It's a good thing you found him Gennai."_

_ _

_"He's lucky he didn't drown.And he's lucky that Droglidite didn't get him."_

_ _

__Daisuke realized that they were talking about him.Vaguely, he wondered what a Droglidite was.

_"Daisuke?Come on, open your eyes."_

_ _

_"Let him rest.He's had a busy day."_

_ _

__Quite suddenly, Daisuke opened his eyes to a blinding light.He was lying in a soft bed in a nice house.He tried to talk, but ended up choking on water that was still in his lungs.

"Don't talk.You've been through a lot," a familiar voice said.

"Miyako?" he managed to whisper.

He saw the lavender-haired girl roll her eyes, then turn and say to Taichi, who was standing behind her: "I tell him not to talk and the first thing he does is talk.He'll be fine."

"Glad to see you're awake," Taichi added.

Daisuke noticed that a very old man was standing on the other side of the bed and was about to ask who it was when Miyako said: "Daisuke, this is Gennai.You know, from when the first Digidestined told their story?"

He was about to say that he did remember when Miyako said: "and this time don't _say _anything!" and ended up nodding instead.

"I guess you're wondering why you have returned," Gennai stated."This world is under siege between two forces of evil, the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians.Both are fighting against each other for control of this world and Earth.It was they who summoned you here, along with all of your other friends."

"That's not the half of it," Taichi broke in."They brought us here so they could force us to fight for them.They both wanted to get us on their side.We're the only ones they didn't get."

"You sure know how to be blunt about it," Miyako muttered."Oh and in case you're wondering where we are, we're in Gennai's house."

Daisuke tried to sit up, but Gennai forced him back down."Rest up.You're going to need it," he said.


	3. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 3

Yamato walked down the cold corridors in the Droglidite base, careful not to make any noise that would bring the guards down to the prisoner block.Everything had happened so fast it was difficult to believe it had happened at all.First he had returned to the Digiworld, then he went unconscious and the next thing he remembered was waking up in a cold cell and being informed he was now "property of the Droglidite clan" as the two tall guards had put it.

So he'd made a crucial decision: he was going to escape no matter what, and he was bringing all his friends with him.He'd managed to kick in the lock on his door and now here he was, tiptoeing down the deserted corridor, looking into the tiny barred windows on each cell door and looking for any of his friends.

It seemed like hours before he came across the cell that held Hikari.She was sitting with her back against the far wall, face buried in her hands.Whether she was sleeping or crying he could not tell.

"Hikari," he whispered.

She looked up, startled."Yamato," she hissed back, "what are you doing here?"

Yamato was startled at Hikari's appearance.It was obvious she had been crying.Her eyes were red and her face was marked with tear streaks."_We're _getting out of here," he replied."_All _of us."

With that, he reached down and opened the door, astonished at how poorly the Droglidites secured their prisoners._They must be crazy, _he thought._What kind of people are stupid enough to only have locks on the inside of their cells?_Not that it really mattered.It sure made his job easier, though.

The door was open, but Hikari did not get up from her place against the wall.She only looked up at him, an expression of fear written on her face.

"Well, come on," he muttered.

Hikari vigorously shook her head as she wiped away a few stray tears and he inquired: "why not?"

"What if we get caught?Who knows what they'll do to us?"

"Thenwe won't get caught.Now come _on!"_

Cautiously, Hikari got to her feet and stepped out of the cell.She was afraid, but at the same time happy to leave this place.

"Do you know where Koushiro or Mimi are?" Yamato questioned.

"They're on the other side of the base in prison block H.I was going to be put over there, but they moved me here instead**, **so I know the way."

Yamato followed behind Hikari until they reached a large metal door."Through there?" he queried.

Hikari nodded and he tried the handle.Of course, it was locked._Figures that they would put a lock somewhere, _he realized.He let go of the handle and that was when the alarm began to sound, loudly blaring through the empty hall.

"Is there any other way to where Koushiro and Mimi are?" Yamato shouted over the raucous alarm.

"No!That's the only way!Now what?"

"Back the way we came.Hurry!"

They ran back down the hall as quickly as they could.It had many twists and turns, but it did not branch out into any other passages, making it easy to find the end of the hallway—and the exit of the compound.

Once again, Yamato was pleasantly surprised to find that this door was unlocked.He threw it open and the two of them ran outside, into the cold night air of the Digital World.

"What about Koushiro and Mimi?We can't just leave them there!" Hikari panted as they ran.

"We'll come back for them.Keep going!"

They ran for what seemed like an eternity until Hikari gasped: "Yamato, I have to stop.I'm really tired."

Yamato nodded and noted with relief that a house was up ahead.Sure, it looked a little odd out in the middle of nowhere, but then again, this was the world where phone booths were found on the beach and trolley cars were found resting on islands for no apparent reason.

The house looked somewhat modern, though unkempt and dirty.Behind it was a dike that he supposed blocked off a ditch of some sort.It appeared as though it would be a safe place a safe place to spend the night, as it was about a mile away from the Droglidite base.

Yamato stepped inside the house and looked around.He was standing on a hardwood floor with large cracks in it.The paint on the walls was peeling considerably and the carpet on some of the rugs had been worn away.Everything was covered in about an inch of dust; making it quite obvious that nobody had been there for quite some time.

Beside him, Hikari yawned and shut the door.He smiled broadly and whispered: "we did it.We made it."

Hikari smiled, too and sighed.But then the smile on her face faded and was replaced with a look of fear.That was when Yamato noticed she was not looking at him; she was looking past him to the shaded picture window behind him.

Quickly, he turned around.Through the curtains, he could just see the silhouette of a man in a long cloak moving about outside.In fact, there were several men in long cloaks outside._Droglidite guards.They were after them._

"Come on, Hikari," he whispered, herding her down the hall and into the back room of the house.He opened the closet, hoping against hope that this house was like a normal house on Earth.The floor of the closet was covered with dust and he scraped some of it away.His hand bumped against a small handle.

"Yes!" he hissed, grabbing hold of the handle and pulling with all his might.A square hole in the floor of the closet opened, leading to underneath the house."Go in," he whispered to Hikari.

She nodded and slid into the hole as the front door of the house opened.Yamato quickly climbed down into the hole and closed the trapdoor behind him.He knew where they had to go; there was a rectangle of starry sky in the foundation on the other side of the house._If we can just get over there we can climb out and get out of here, _he thought."Over there," he breathed, gesturing to the sliver of sky.

Hikari scooted on her back toward the hole, Yamato following beside her.All went well until they came to the area of hardwood floor that had the cracks in it.The Droglidites were up there, shining their flashlights around—and through the cracks.

A beam of light hit Hikari and she froze, forcing Yamato to stop as well.She trembled as it moved up her legs and across her stomach.She tightly closed her eyes as it rested on her face, but she could still feel the heat across her forehead.

Unintentionally, she began to whimper in fear.It was a small, crying sound that came from the back of her throat.

"Shhhh," Yamato hissed, quickly covering her mouth with his left hand.She wasn't the only scared one, though.His face was a river of sweat and he was afraid the beating of his heart would alert the Droglidites above of their presence.

And then the light withdrew.Hikari quickly resumed scooting toward the tiny vent and soon was crawling out.Once Hikari was outside of the house, Yamato heard somebody opening the trapdoor they'd come through.Quickly, he pushed his head through the hole, and then pulled his body through.He was just pulling his legs out of the hole when he heard a sudden exclamation of surprise, then a shout of: "there they are!"

"Run, Hikari!"

"Run where?"

Yamato looked desperately around."The dike!" he shouted.He didn't have to say it twice; Hikari was already running for the dike.

She ran the distance across the small backyard that felt more like it was a million miles and stopped short at the dike.The edges were high and steep.Too high and too steep.Even by jumping, her outstretched arms reach the area where the ground leveled out to form the top of the dike.

"I can't get up!" she cried.

Yamato bent down and picked up Hikari across the knees.She kicked in surprise and he almost dropped her, but instead lifted her as high as he could.

"A little higher!" she shouted."I can almost reach!"

He strained, the muscles in his arms screaming in protest and Hikari cried out in triumph: "I got it!"She was soon standing up on the level ground.

For Yamato, the jump wasn't as big and he was able to grab onto the sharp corner where the vertical slope became horizontal.His legs were still dangling down precariously when he felt a hand latch around his ankle.

"Ahhh!" he cried in surprise.

"Yamato!" Hikari shrieked.She knelt down and tried to pull him back up as the Droglidite below tried to pull him back down.

In desperation, Yamato kicked his leg.His foot connected with something solid and he heard a shout of pain and anger, then he was free!Immediately he pulled himself the rest of the way onto the dike.

"Come on!" he shouted and began running across the top of the dike, hoping to be able to get down to the other side.His hopes were quickly dashed when they came across a high wood fence.There was no way around and it was far too high to think about climbing."Dig!" he shouted and dropped to his knees.

Frantically, they dug in the soft dirt near the bottom of the fence until they created a moderate-sized hole.

"OK, stop," he muttered as he got to his feet.He hooked his foot under one of the boards on the fence and jerked backward, causing the board to come loose.

"Hurry!" Hikari cried out."They're coming!"

Yamato dislodged two more boards and replied: "go!Crawl under!"

Hikari squeezed through the hole and under the fence, scraping her back on the rough wood planks.Yamato looked back and saw a mob of Droglidites racing toward him.They were close.Hastily, he dropped to the ground and forced his head and shoulders through the hole.He was nearly halfway through when he somebody grabbed his legs and began yanking him back through the hole, painfully scratching his back on the planks.

"Yamato!" Hikari shouted, kneeling down and reaching for him.

"Run, Hikari.Get out of here!"

"But---"

"Do it now before they catch you, too!" he hollered as he was pulled the rest of the way through the hole.

Hikari turned and fled toward the edge of the dike—and stopped short when she noticed that where there had once been a ditch there was now a dried-up hole in the ground.She couldn't jump.At least, not unless she wanted a broken leg.Then it hit her: the drainpipe!

The large white pipe was sticking horizontally out the ground to her right only about five feet below her.Steeling her every last nerve, she jumped and landed safely inside.Seconds later, the Droglidites arrived at the scene, searching for her with their flashlight beams.

She backed as far into the pipe as she could and huddled into a small ball. From far away, she could hear Yamato shouting.It made her shiver.He hadn't gotten away and she felt sick thinking of what they were going to do to him.As one guard had said: "there are things worse than death.If we catch you trying to run away, you will get to explore these things."

After nearly an hour, the flashlight beams disappeared.Hikari crawled to the lip of the pipe and cautiously peeked outside.The Droglidites had left.That was when the sobs escaped Hikari's throat and the tears ran freely down her face once again.

Still crying, she slipped out of the pipe and ran down the dried ditch bed, running to get as far away from the Droglidites as possible.


	4. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 4

All was quiet at the Ghoulinthian base at roughly eleven pm.It was quite unnatural to see the base still and dark, as it was nearly always the precise opposite.Lights usually penetrated through the darkness of night and there was always the constant whirring of heavy machinery emanating from within the huge complex.But tonight the machines were still and silent, giving the entire place an eerie atmosphere.

Corth, the commander in chief of the Ghoulinthian forces sat still as stone beside the unmoving machinery.Not only did he have to worry about military tactics, he was also responsible for all the work that went on in this compound.It was no easy task to keep track of every weapon that was produced in this factory, but it was an even more difficult chore to monitor the food production in the second factory on the east wing of the base.It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it.Without somebody to monitor weapon production, the Ghoulinthians would fall to the Droglidites because of sheer unorganization of weaponry.Likewise, without somebody to monitor food production, the risk was run that the Ghoulinthians would starve.It was enough to give anyone a headache.

This was one of the few times he had the time to sit down and relax and he was taking full advantage of it.He'd even turned off his communication unit to ensure that his peace went uninterrupted.

_These "Digidestined" children will be a valuable asset once they are turned.How the Droglidites managed to capture even one child is beyond me.And how did that fool Gennai happen to bumble into saving the other three children?The army must be slipping in their overconfidence of victory.They need some sharpening up, so they will be running double drills tomorrow,_ Corth decided._The last thing we need is to allow those moronic Droglidites to defeat us.Once my scouts return on their search for Gennai's house it will be a simple matter of overpowering him to acquire the three free children._

"Sir!There you are sir!"

Corth sighed in annoyance.A young officer in his army was racing toward him.

"Everyone is looking for you sir," the officer panted once he had reached him."We tried using your communication unit, but it would not work."

"That's because I turned it off."_I wanted to avoid ridiculous officers like you, _he silently added.

"Sir, this is urgent news concerning the young children that were transported here from Earth."

"What, they haven't escaped, have they?" Corth demanded, suddenly interested in what this officer had to say.

"No, of course not."

"Good.It would be a pity if I had to send out a late night search for them."

"But sir, two of the children the Droglidites were holding captive escaped earlier this evening.One was found and caught, but the other is still free."

Corth sucked in his breath sharply and set his lips in a firm, straight line.It would be undignified to look excited by this news, although inside he was screaming in ecstasy.The officer who had been a ridiculous fool only seconds ago was now a fine young fighter."Send out half of the A group to search for the child," he commanded.

"Right away, sir!" the officer cried, turning and beginning to run back the way he had come.

"Wait one moment—" Corth trailed off, unable to think of the officer's name.

_It's Braul, _came the reply not from the officer's mouth, but from his mind.

Corth smiled._I see you are well trained in the art of telepathy as well, Braul, _he thought._Perhaps there will be a promotion in store for you if you continue to perform as well as this._

Braul smiled.He'd gotten the message.And he was going to get that promotion.

~*~

"Everybody up!" Corth shouted, his voice reverberating through the cement walls of the prisoner block.

Takeru sat up and groggily rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes.For a moment he didn't recognize his surroundings, but then the remembered everything from being informed of the war between the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians to working nonstop in a huge factory to lying down, exhausted in his cell.It seemed as though he'd only been asleep for a minute and his aching muscles screamed in protest when he got to his feet, the chains around his ankles and wrists clanking.

He knew it was Corth.They had been introduced before he'd been forced to work in the factory.From the cells all along the hall were tired groans of protest when the lights were snapped on.

"One of my finest officers has informed me that a member of your so-called world saving group has escaped from the Droglidites."

Now Takeru was wide awake.Somebody was free.This was big news.

"Who is it?" Sora's voice traveled to him from down the hall.Just by hearing her voice, Takeru could tell she'd been through just as hard a day as he had.

"Names are not important.The reason I have informed you of this is quite simple to understand.You are going to help us find and capture the escapee."

"What makes you think we're going to help you?" Iori's weary voice inquired.

"What gives _you _the idea that you can resist?" Corth replied, voice icy with a hundred unspoken threats."As I was saying, you will help my army to find the person."

"Your guess is as good as ours as to the location of him or her," Ken quietly replied."You never told us where the Droglidite base is and even if we knew, the chances of us knowing where he or she has gone are slim to none."

Corth smiled wryly and said: "I suppose I did not make myself clear.I was not going to pump you for information as to the whereabouts of your friend.Oh no, I was going to send you out with my army to hunt them down!" before laughing.

A shocked silence followed this remark until Jyou queried: "and what makes you so sure we won't get away?"

"None of you will run away.At least not unless you would like to remain alive, that is.If you attempt to run away, we will find you.Besides, you won't get very far with those chains around your ankles and wrists."

Takeru knew it was true.The chains that limited the movement of his legs and arms would slow anybody down considerably.It would be impossible to get away from the Ghoulinthians like that.

He looked around his cold, miniscule cell and sighed.And then he was no longer in his cell at all.He was outside, along with Sora, Iori, Jyou, Ken and over three hundred soldiers from the Ghoulinthian army.

And the Ghoulinthians weren't taking any chances, either.Not only were the five of them surrounded by a wall of soldiers, they now had thick metal bands around their necks with chains that hung off of them and connected them to each other.At either end of the row there was a loose chain and a soldier held onto the chain tightly.

"Let's get moving," one of the officers in the front shouted.The whole group began to move away from the Ghoulinthian base in search of the escaped Digidestined….


	5. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 5

Mimi was sleeping very soundly after a day of doing more work than she could ever remember doing in one day, despite the fact that the ground of the claustrophobic cell she was in was both icy cold and hard.At least, she was sleeping soundly until a Droglidite officer kicked her forcefully in the ribs.She yelped in surprise and pain as her hazel eyes shot open.

"Shut up," the officer growled.He bent down, squeezed her arm extremely hard and yanked her to her feet."You're coming with me."

Mimi sighed, but did not resist as the officer led her out of the cell and into the long hallway.He appeared to be somewhat peeved, but over what she had no idea._I did everything they told me to do, _she bitterly thought._Do they expect me to enjoy working for them?_

The two of them walked down the hallway and through the heavy door at the end of the prison block.Mimi was a little surprised at this.She had been told she would not be allowed out of the prison block until "she'd proven herself worthy of the privilege," yet here she was stepping out of the prison block her first night at this awful place.She knew there was no way they could have gotten to trust her that soon.

The man was not loosening his grip on her arm and she irritably thought: _I'm going to get bruises._But bruises turned out to be the least of her worries when she was rudely shoved through yet another door.The room behind the door was quite nice looking with its lavishly carpeted floor and peach-colored walls.It almost made Mimi forget she was in a military base.A tall woman stood across the room.She was quite pretty, with long, black hair and a trim figure.She was towering over… "Koushiro!" Mimi cried upon seeing her friend.

Koushiro turned to look at Mimi and received a slap across the face from the woman."This is your last chance.Tell me _where are they?" _she shrieked.

"I already told you, I don't know!" Koushiro angrily shouted, then braced himself as the woman slapped him again.

"Rothena, I have brought the other one, as you requested," the officer murmured.

Rothena pushed Koushiro back and pinned him against the wall with her left arm before turning to look over at Mimi."Excellent work," she growled."Bring her here and you may take your leave."

Once again, Mimi was rudely shoved forward.She was sent sprawling onto the ground in front of Rothena, then she was yanked forcefully to her feet by her long hair.Mimi screamed in pain and surprise.Rothena did not lessen her grip on her hair in the slightest.

"Leave her alone!" Koushiro shouted, only to receive an elbow in the face.His lip began to bleed freely.

"Silence!" Rothena roared."If you will not tell me, then she will."

"What gives you the idea that she's going to know any more about it than me?"

Rothena elbowed Koushiro again in the face before saying to Mimi: "I want to know where your two friends are."

"H-here?" Mimi fearfully stammered.

The answer caused Rothena to pull hard on Mimi's hair and she shouted: "they are _not here!I want to know where they have gone!"_

"I don't know!"

"You're lying."

"No I'm not.Really, I don't know where they are if they're not here!OW!" Mimi gasped as Rothena lifted her by the hair so the two of them were face to face.

"You _will tell me where they are," she hissed._

Mimi felt embarrassed as tears began to stream from her eyes."I don't know!I don't!" she wailed.

"Liar!" Rothena bellowed as she shook Mimi, never allowing the poor girl's feet to touch the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Koushiro shouted above Mimi's cries of pain.

Rothena dropped Mimi to the ground and turned to face Koushiro."I told you to be _silent!" she cried, raising her hand to hit him again.Just as she was about to bring down her wrath against him, the door of her office opened and an officer appeared._

"We have found the boy," he stated."What shall we do to him as punishment?"

"What about the girl?What happened to the girl?"

"We could not—"

"FIND HER!"

"Y-yes ma'am," the officer trembled."The boy is awaiting punishment," he added before _running out of the office._

Rothena had held her hand above Koushiro the whole time.She still had him pinned against the wall with her left arm.Instead of hitting him, she snatched his arm, then bent down and jerked Mimi to her feet."Come with me," he muttered, pulling the two children behind her."You're going to find out what will happen to you if you ever attempt to escape."

Mimi had no choice, as Rothena was incredibly strong.Her scalp was still throbbing and she had no idea what was going on.She looked over to Koushiro, her eyes still wet with tears.His lip was still bleeding, coloring his chin a bright red color.He looked exhausted.

The two of them were herded into a room that was all white.The only feature it bared was a small steel table in the center of the room.That was when Rothena finally let go of them.She exited the room, leaving them alone for the moment.

"Koushiro, what is going on?" Mimi cried as soon as the tall woman had left the room.

"It appears that Yamato and Hikari escaped, or at least they tried to.I'm assuming Yamato was caught."

Mimi couldn't hold back the flood of tears that was building in her eyes any longer.She began crying harder than she'd ever cried in her life and buried her face in Koushiro's shoulder.

Koushiro was a little embarrassed to have Mimi crying on his shoulder, but he allowed her to do so anyway.

"It'll be OK," he whispered, even though he himself wasn't entirely convinced.

"Koushiro, we're going to be here forever," Mimi wailed, the words muffled as she still had her face against Koushiro's shoulder.

"We'll get out of this…somehow.It sounds like Hikari escaped and there's no reason we can't do the same."

Mimi pulled away from Koushiro and sniffled a little, wiping the last of her tears away from her eyes."I'm scared, Koushiro," she whispered."I'm scared."

Koushiro lowered his gaze to the ground and quietly replied: "so am I, Mimi.So am I."

Rothena suddenly entered the room, one of her large hands tightly wrapped around Yamato's throat.He was struggling to get away from her, but it was a futile effort.In less than a minute Rothena had forced him onto the table.Quickly, she tied him down with a thick leather strap across his chest that pinned his arms down to his sides.She moved down to his legs and began strapping them down as well.Yamato, still struggling, managed to kick her full in the face.

Rothena pulled away quickly and clapped her hand over the place just under her eye.Blood streamed from between her fingers.She hovered over Yamato for a moment, looking down at his face.He stiffened as some of her blood dripped onto his face before she quickly strapped his free leg down.

She knelt down beside him until her face was close to his and said: "if you want to beg for mercy, now is the time to do it.Do a good job and I might let you off easy."

Yamato gritted his teeth, then spat in Rothena's face.She pulled back and wiped the spittle away from her face in disgust."That confirms it.You will get full punishment."

At those words, Yamato struggled against the bonds, but it was a wasted effort."I always wondered what it would be like to be a surgeon," Rothena murmured.She glanced at Yamato, then added: "I do believe your tonsils should be removed."

Yamato's eyes widened in horror as he saw the small, sharp knife that Rothena held in her hand._She's insane! He thought, jerking against the bonds.He felt a pinprick in his arm and he glared at Rothena for an instant._

"It's to keep you from going unconscious during the procedure," she explained.

Again, Yamato kicked against the straps.

"Oh, don't struggle so," Rothena laughed."You wouldn't want me to slip and kill you, now would you?"

Yamato pulled against the straps one last time, and then he felt the knife against his neck.He froze, now terrified.He had never expected torture as horrible as _this.It was all he could to keep from screaming when he felt the knife cut into him.The pain was horrible and he truly thought he was going to die._

Though Yamato was silent, Mimi screamed in terror at the first sight of blood.She was liberated from having to watch when her eyes rolled up into her skull and she fainted.Koushiro caught her and gently laid her down on the ground, unable to take his eyes off of the scene of Rothena delightedly wielding the knife.

After what seemed like an eternity of white-hot pain and torture for Yamato, the straps were loosened.He felt sick and his throat burned as though he'd swallowed fire.The torture had left him too weak to move.The best he could do was weakly kick his legs when Rothena lifted him off the table.She was smiling, making it all the more disturbing.

"That was fun now, wasn't it?" she cheerfully inquired.She then marched across the room, grabbed Koushiro by the arm and the still unconscious Mimi by the ankles and left the huge white room.

Yamato felt as though he was going to die right there.The pain was beyond anything he could have ever imagined.He didn't dare try and make a sound, afraid that his throat would begin to bleed.It even hurt to breathe.But he couldn't go unconscious.The best he could do was close his eyes, wishing for the pain to leave him….

(A/N: I am so sorry for what I did to Yamato!I always torture my favorite character and he's my favorite character.I'm twisted, I know.Anyhoo, please review if you liked it and don't bother if you didn't because the flames will be used in my flamethrower!And no, this is not the end.)


	6. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 6

Hikari was still running down the dried ditch-bed as the first morning light lit the Digital World.The sunlight was not at all cheerful, as huge black clouds that colored it an ugly gray mostly blocked it.She was exhausted, but she didn't dare stop, afraid that she would be unable to start running again if she had to.Her legs felt like lead weights with every step she took and even in the cold morning air she was sweating profusely.It seemed almost natural when the rain came, adding another hardship to her growing list.

The raindrops were huge and they came so fast they stung when they hit her.As if this wasn't enough, strong winds blew the falling water into her face, forcing her to squint to keep it from entering her eyes.It felt like a tropical storm of some sort.

And the ditch-bed wasn't so dry anymore, either.Soupy mud was beginning to build around her ankles, sucking at her feet every time she lifted them.It became harder and harder for her to move in the increasing amount of mud until she reached the point where she couldn't pull her feet out of the sticky mud.

Desperately struggling to free herself, she thrashed about—until she realized that this was only making her sink farther.She was now buried up to her mid-thigh in the mud and she was continually sinking.Quickly, she stopped moving and muttered to herself: "don't struggle, you're just making it worse."

She looked at the side of the dike that was closest to her and saw a large, sturdy root sticking out of the packed dirt.Even though the dirt was changing into mud as she watched, the root seemed to be strong.

Hikari reached quickly grasped the root with both hands and pulled…to no avail."No hurry," she reminded herself."No hurry."

As if in direct contradiction to the statement that had just left her mouth, she heard people walking about up on top of the dike.Somebody was coming and judging by the sound of hundreds of feet marching, they weren't friendly.There _was _a hurry.

The thick mud lazily sloshed against her fingers and Hikari gasped sharply, panic taking over.She struggled again to escape the mud, but this only caused her to sink until her elbows were submerged in the heavy liquid.

Abruptly, she stopped moving and yanked her arms out of the mud.She once again held on to the root and pulled.With a loud sucking noise, the mud allowed her to pull herself a couple of inches out.

"Check down in the ditch," she heard a voice shout.

_No!Not yet! _She silently pleaded.

"Who would be crazy enough to go down there during a monsoon?Everybody knows it'll flood," another voice matter-of-factly answered.

"Well, just _check, _will you?I don't want Corth mad at us because we weren't thorough."

With a burst of adrenaline, Hikari was able to pull herself the rest of the way out of the mud.Unfortunately, it made a very loud squelching noise, which she was sure would give her away.

Nervously, she looked up to the top of dike—to come face to face with a Ghoulinthian.For a moment, the two of them stared at each other.Then he turned away to alert his buddies of her presence.

His shouts were blocked out by the sound of rushing water.That was when Hikari realized the importance of the Ghoulinthian's words._"Everybody knows it'll flood."_She looked behind her, terrified just in time to see the huge wall of muddy water before it was upon her.

The water was moving quickly, leaving her helpless against it.Occasionally she would bob to the surface, coughing and choking on water that had entered her mouth to hear shouts from the Ghoulinthians, but she was never above the surface long enough to pick out what was being said.Once she thought she saw Takeru and another time she could have sworn she'd seen Ken, but it had only been for a moment and in the confusion of the roaring waters nothing was certain.

The only thing she knew for sure was that the water, though dangerous, was carrying her away from the Ghoulinthians.That was a good thing.

Her previous exhaustion was beginning to take its toll and she was unable to fight her way back to the surface as easily as at first.Her legs felt like rubber as she slipped under the surface again and began to sink in the swirling, dirty water._No, I can't drown! _She thought.With a final burst of strength, she kicked to the surface and drew a deep breath.And then she sunk back under the surface, too weak to fight the current any longer and everything went black.

~*~

Voices drifted to Hikari from far away:

_"Geez, two near-drownings in less than twenty-four hours."_

_ _

_"It's a wonder she managed to escape the Droglidites.I would like to know how she did it."_

_ _

_"I'm just glad you found her, Gennai."_

_ _

Hikari snapped open her eyes and sat up quickly with a gasp when she noticed she was inside a house and lying in a bed.For a moment she was frightened, then she noticed that Miyako, Daisuke, Taichi and Gennai were all standing beside the bed.

"Taichi!Daisuke!Miyako!" she cried out."I—I thought they got you, too!"

"Nope, we've been here pretty much ever since we came back to Digiworld," Daisuke replied.

"I'm glad to see that you're safe," Taichi whispered to his sister."You had me worried for a minute there."

"How did I get here?" Hikari inquired."Is this your house, Gennai?"

Gennai nodded and was about to explain when Miyako broke in with: "you came in from the ditch and ended up in Gennai's lake.He brought you down to his house as soon as he realized you were out there."

For a moment Hikari was confused, at Miyako's explanation, then she remembered that Taichi had told her Gennai's house was under a lake.She was about to ask what they were going to do next, but decided against it.For the moment, all was peaceful and she could just rest and she was going to take advantage of it while it lasted.

~*~

Braul grinned to himself._That promotion is so close I can practically taste it, _he thought.He had found Gennai's house.Even if it was by an accident, he had found it.

When the Digidestined girl was washed down the ditch, he pursued her until she drifted into a large, calm lake.She was still and facedown in the water and he was just about ready to leave her, satisfied that she was dead when the waters parted and Gennai himself appeared on a stairway that had been concealed underwater.

He hadn't stayed long enough to watch him take the girl down to his house, but what he'd seen was more than enough.So now here he stood, face to face with Corth.Taking a deep breath, he blurted: "I have news that will interest you immensely, sir!I have found the location of Gennai's house…."


	7. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 7

Sora yawned and rubbed her sleep-heavy eyes with the dirty palms of her hands.She knew she should try to sleep--the Ghoulinthians would be in to put them to work soon--but sleep seemed impossible after what she had witnessed.

It had been an extremely long night.She along with Ken, Takeru, Jyou and Iori had been dragged across the Digital World on the Ghoulinthian's search for the escapee.All night all they had done was walk, walk, walk without any breaks.They walked until the first gray rays of morning sunlight filtered through the thick clouds above.That was when the monsoon came.Icy water from the heavens pelting against her bare arms and unprotected feet.It made her wish she were wearing something heavier than a pair of shorts and a tee shirt with no shoes.

And her friends hadn't been any better off than her.The ones that had been lucky enough to have shoes were forced to take them off and give them to the Ghoulinthians.Why?She had no idea.Probably just to make matters worse for them than they already were.

So there they were in the midst of a regiment of Ghoulinthian soldiers, chained together to discourage any ideas of escape, cold, wet and generally miserable.It was enough to almost wish they could just find the person that escaped the Droglidites just so they could get out of the awful rain and cold.Almost.She could never wish what she and her friends were going through on somebody else.

They walked through the harsh wind and rain until they came to a dried up ditch bed that was set far down into the ground.That was when Hikari was found.Before any of the Ghoulinthians could get down to her, a wall of water washed her down the ditch bed, away from the Ghoulinthians.All she could do was hope and pray that Hikari had survived.

That was over an hour ago.Now she was lying on her back on the hard, cold floor of her cell thanks to the power of teleportation that the Ghoulinthians apparently possessed.Sleep?Who was going to sleep after something like that?

_Maybe someone else is awake, too.Might as well find out.Talking is definitely better than laying here awake, _she thought as she got up and walked to the barred door of her cell.

"Is anyone awake?" she half-whispered, hoping that somebody would answer."Anyone?"

"Sora?" came a tired reply."You're still awake, too?"

"Yes, Takeru," she answered, glad that she wouldn't have to lay in her cell in that awful silence.

There was a long stretch of quiet and Sora was startled when Takeru inquired: "where do you think Hikari is now, Sora?"

"I'm not sure."

She heard Takeru sigh before saying: "well, I hope she made it."

Another awkward pause, then: "I'm glad it was her."

"Hmm?" Sora sleepily grunted.

"I'm glad she was the one that escaped."

Sora yawned again.She was tired, too tired for real conversation.In the cell across the hall she heard Takeru yawn deeply and she drowsily said: "go to sleep.You're tired.I am, too."

"Goodnight, Sora," Takeru replied through another yawn.

"Goodnight, Takeru," she answered.She moved away from the door of her cell and lay back down on the cell floor, eyes open, staring at the half-rotten ceiling.She was tired, but she didn't sleep.Not at all.

~*~

Miyako's eyes snapped open as Daisuke shook her awake from a sound sleep.For a moment she was confused as to where she was, then it all came back to her: the war between the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians, the fact that most of her friends were being held captive, Gennai…everything came flooding back to her.

It took her a second to realize that something was wrong.She didn't know exactly what it was, but something in Daisuke's eyes told her that something was not right.He looked nervous and afraid.

"Daisuke, what's going on?"

"Shh!" he hissed."We've got to get out of here."His voice was breathy and taught.Something was definitely going on.

"Where's Taichi and Hikari?" she demanded, noticing that the two of them were missing.

"Waiting for us.Get up.Hurry."

Miyako narrowed her eyes, but swung her legs to the ground and got out of bed.She allowed Daisuke to lead her out of the room.Once outside the room, he began running down the twisted hall, pulling Miyako behind him.

"Daisuke, what is going on?" she requested as they ran.

"The Ghoulinthians know we're here.They're trying to get to us.Last I heard they were almost inside.Hurry _up!"_

Miyako didn't bother to explain that she was already running as fast as she could and nearly collided with Daisuke when he stopped abruptly in front of her.

"What are you doing?" she skeptically inquired.If the situation hadn't been so serious, she would have laughed.Daisuke was stomping on the tiled floor as hard as he could.

He didn't answer and his actions quickly explained themselves when a panel on the floor suddenly came loose.

"Go," he muttered.

Miyako jumped down and Daisuke quickly followed, pulling the panel closed behind him.They were now in a well-lit earthen cavern that Miyako assumed to be under Gennai's house.

"Daisuke, Miyako!Over here!" Hikari's voice came to them, echoing in the cavern.

Miyako followed the voice to find both Hikari and Taichi waiting for her and Daisuke, as Daisuke had earlier said.Gennai was also with them.All three of them were standing next to a large lock of some sort that was composed of a type of metal.About three feet from the ground was a large hole in the lock that appeared to lead to the opening of a pipe.

"I'm sorry you have to leave like this," Gennai apologized, "but it is certainly better than the alternative."

"Thanks for helping us, Gennai," Taichi replied."Are you sure you'll be OK?"

"It's you the Ghoulinthians are after.Not me.I'm going to send you out in a mini-sub.It might be a little cramped, but it should be large enough to accommodate the four of you.I have it on auto-pilot, so all you need to do is go through the pipe."

Nobody made a move to get into the pipe and Gennai irritably ordered: "go.Now.Before they catch you."

Miyako sighed and had soon disappeared through the pipe, then Daisuke Hikari and Taichi.The pipe was surprisingly short and as Gennai had said the submarine was a little cramped.Somehow, the four of them managed to squeeze inside and the door automatically slid closed after them.The next thing they knew, the submarine was moving away from Gennai's house under the lake and away from the only safety that they had had.

~*~

Yamato pressed his cheek against the cold stone floor of the cell he was in.The cold felt good against his hot face and he closed his eyes.His throat still felt as though it was on fire every time he took a breath, but he was recovering from the torture.When he had been unceremoniously dumped into his cell, he had been too weak to move.It seemed that even blinking was an effort.But gradually, ever so gradually, he regained the strength to sit up on his elbows and then stand up.He felt sick and lightheaded.The injection that had forced him to stay conscious through the operation was beginning to wear off.

Not that he didn't want it to.He was actually looking forward to being able to go unconscious.At least it would allow him to escape from the awful pain that stabbed through his throat with every slight breath.

The lightheadedness was becoming worse.It felt strange.The only way to describe it was fainting in super slow motion, but even that fails to really depict it.

From far away, Yamato heard footsteps.But they were so far away….He felt dizzy and he gritted his teeth, hoping he wouldn't throw up.The sound of a key in a lock come to him and like the footsteps they were far, far away.He was vaguely aware of he door of his cell opening and somebody entering, but it didn't seem to matter anymore.

Somebody grabbed his arm and it took a minute for his fuzzy train of thought to register that whoever was holding his arm was trying to get him to stand up.He didn't care.It felt like he was floating.

Whoever had hold of his arm jerked him to his feet.The room whirled around him and then he was finally able to go unconscious and escape from the fiery pain that plagued him….


	8. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 8

"So does anyone have an idea where this auto pilot is taking us?" Daisuke wondered aloud.He along with Hikari, Taichi and Miyako were still in the cramped mini-subunder the surface of Gennai's lake.

The tiny undersea vehicle made a sharp turn, throwing him into the wall and he grunted with pain.

"I haven't got the foggiest idea," Hikari replied as she crashed to the floor thanks to another unexpected turn."Away from the Ghoulinthians, I guess."

Taichi twisted to look through the small window in the back of the sub, unable to move closer to it without smashing Miyako against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.Hikari was correct.They appeared to be moving away from the Ghoulinthians.

"Uh…If we're moving _away _from the Ghoulinthians…then who do the subs dead ahead belong to?" Miyako nervously inquired.

Taichi quickly turned back to the main front window and nearly choked.Through the clear waters of the lake he could see them: a group of eight submarines that were each at least three times as big as the tiny little thing they were in.They couldn't have been more than a quarter of a mile away and they were directly in front of them, blocking the way into the ditch that Hikari had floated into the lake from, just as Miyako had said…and the sub they were in sure didn't show any sign of changing direction.

"OK…all we've got to do is get this thing off of the auto pilot," Taichi reasoned."It can't be that hard, can it?"

"Let me see the control panel," Miyako instructed, pushing to the front of the sub.She quickly swept her eyes across it, quickly taking in all the separate controls.There were a lot of them, and they weren't labeled.

After a quick glance at the subs that they were approaching, she took a deep breath and push a button that was a pretty looking pinkish color.It buzzed, then changed to a blue color.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!Wait a second!" Daisuke cried out from the back of the sub."You _do _know what you're doing…right?"

"Or course not!How would I know how to drive a submarine?" she answered back while pressing a yellow button.A pair of bright lights flashed on from the front of the submarine, illuminating the water in front of them.

"Turn the lights _off!" _Hikari shouted, hoping that the submarines in front of them hadn't seen.

Miyako pressed the button again, but the lights did not switch off as she had hoped they would, and they were still moving toward the submarines.She pulled a lever and there was a loud whirring noise and suddenly they were moving toward the submarines much faster.They were less than 200 meters away._Last chance, she nervously thought._

She closed her eyes and pushed a red button beside what she assumed to be the steering device of the sub.It turned green under her finger and hoping she'd pressed the correct button, she jerked on the steering device.The sub shot sharply to the right, knocking Taichi, Hikari and Daisuke off their feet.

"Sorry, guys," Miyako muttered, a little embarrassed.They had done nearly a full 180 degree rotation in about two seconds flat.They were now moving away from all the Ghoulinthian forces that were in the lake.

~*~

Yamato hadn't opened his eyes yet, but he was absolutely sure that somebody was with him in the cell.He could hear whoever it was breathing.In fact, there seemed to be two of them, whispering to each other.

_Who would be in here with me? He wondered.__What if it's a couple of Rothena's henchmen?What if I don't want to know who it is?What if---_

His thoughts were cut short when a cheery voice said: "Koushiro, I think he's waking up."

_Koushiro's here?And that sounded like Mimi… Quickly, he opened his eyes and saw that the two people in his cell were indeed Mimi and Koushiro._

"Oh good, you're awake," Mimi smiled."Are you feeling any better?"

Yamato nodded in reply, deciding to refrain from talking at the moment.His throat was still hurting, although it wasn't the horrible, biting pain he had been experiencing earlier.

"I just can't figure these Droglidites out," Koushiro sighed.

"What do you mean?" Mimi questioned, turning away from Yamato to look instead at Koushiro.

"I mean it doesn't make any sense for them to smack us around and do all that awful things they have been doing to us and then let us stay in the same cell for no particular reason."

"Maybe they felt sorry for us?"

"I don't think they even know the meaning of the word, let alone the actual feeling."

"Do you think they're trying to give us more freedom?"

"I doubt it."

_Yeah, the only freedom a slave knows is death, _Yamato bitterly thought.His stomach growled loudly and he realized for the first time that he hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday.Was it _only _yesterday?It seemed so far away to him.

He wanted to join the conversation that Mimi and Koushiro were having, but of course the current condition of his throat prevented that.After a few minutes, he didn't even bother to listen._What's the point?_

Quietly, he sat up, leaning against the wall of the cell and rubbed his throbbing temples._It's going to be a long…well, however long I'm here, _he thought.


	9. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 9

Rothena glared at the teen in front of her with a contemptuous eye, taking in the disshelved black hair that would have been glossy had it not been so messy and the violet eyes that burned with a fire of hatred.The girl's face was thin and pale from malnutrition and she looked as though she would break if anybody so much as touched her.

The girl glared right back, bony fingers drawn into a tight fist.Although she was rather weak, she wasn't going to let this awful woman intimidate her.Behind her she could feel the glare of the hundreds of pairs of eyes from fellow Droglidites like herself.They all hated her and she hated all of them right back.

After a short silence, Rothena took a deep breath and said: "why do you believe that you should be allowed parole, prisoner 226894?"

The girl laughed a humorless laugh and replied: "so I'm prisoner 226-whatever now?You don't have to be so formal about everything, mom."

The courtroom full of Droglidites was filled with the sound of murmuring following the girl's remark, although Rothena remained silent until it died away.Once the courtroom was silent, Rothena calmly stated: "in the future you would do well not to address me so informally, child" to her daughter.

"I've got a name, you know.It's Nea, in case you've forgotten.And quite frankly I think my entire imprisonment is fraudulent."

"And why would you think that?"

"How can you throw someone in prison for their beliefs?How is that a legitimate arrest?" Nea countered.

Rothena took a deep breath and replied: "you are an endangerment to the entire Droglidite race.Your beliefs are against everything that we as a people stand for.You have attempted to deter several of our sieges on the Ghoulinthians and you have also attempted to deter our progress in taking over the Digital World and Earth.How do you plead to these crimes?"

"Not guilty to the crimes, but certainly guilty of being unique.Is that such an awful thing?"She could feel the eyes of all the other Droglidites boring into her, as if to penetrate through her being.

"In this society, being unique is not a good thing, child.On six different occasions you have knowingly ruined attacks on the Ghoulinthians and on eight other occasions you have ruined our plans to take over both worlds.Now tell me: are you guilty or are you not guilty of the aforementioned crimes?"

There was a silence that rang through the room as Nea considered her answer.Then, she lowered her eyes to the ground and murmured: "guilty."

"Please speak loud enough for the entire courtroom to hear you," Rothena commanded.

"Guilty!"

Rothena smiled ever so slightly and said: "it is just as I thought.You are a traitor to your people and therefore you are to be imprisoned as before.Take her back to her cell."

Nea shot one final hate-filled glare back at her mother as her hands were pulled behind her back and she was lead out of the courtroom….

~*~

"This is crazy.No, this goes way past crazy to just plain insane," Daisuke muttered.Little more than an hour had passed since the incident in the mini-sub and he along with Taichi, Miyako and Hikari were on land again.For some time they had walked away from the lake and eventually they ended up in a forest, which was where they were presently.

"What?" Miyako and Hikari inquired at the same time.

"Everything.I mean we just found out about this war a little over twenty-four hours ago and already we're a group of fugitives.All of our friends are prisoners to one side or the other and somehow we're supposed to free them.Not to mention the teensy little fact that…_WE'RE **LOST!"**_

Taichi shrugged and answered: "well, it's better than getting caught by the Ghoulinthians, isn't it?" before falling silent.

Hikari was surprised to hear her brother speak.He hadn't said a word since they'd left the mini-sub.She suspected he felt guilty for leaving Gennai without trying to help and responsible for the imprisonment of their friends.It had been in utter silence he'd led them through the forest and he continued to lead them forward, just as quiet as before.

"Where are the Digimon?" Miyako suddenly questioned.

"What do you mean 'where are the Digimon?'" Daisuke answered with a question of his own.

"Just what I said.Where are they?"

Hikari's eyes grew wide as she realized that Miyako was right._The Digimon should have been with them!_

"I don't know," Hikari muttered._That is really strange, _she thought._Gatomon should know that I'm here._She glanced at Taichi, walking in front of her, but she couldn't see his face and even if she could she guessed that his expression would probably be unreadable.

She shivered.The sun was beginning to go down and the forest was cold.Abruptly, Taichi stopped and simply said: "we should stop for the night" in a voice so tired and beaten Hikari barely recognized it as her brother's._And what is this war doing to Taichi?I've never heard him sound like that before…._

Nobody disagreed and the four of them sat on the packed dirt floor of the forest in a circle.None of them said a word.Taichi noticed that Hikari looked tired and a little sad and Daisuke looked like he was ready to fall asleep right then and there.Even Miyako, who was usually somewhat cheerful, seemed unusually quiet and melancholy.They all looked as bad as he felt.

Daisuke was soon sleeping heavily, mouth pulled down in a slight frown.Miyako was quick to follow once she lay on the hard ground and closed her eyes.

After a couple of minutes, Taichi said: "go ahead, go to sleep, Hikari.You're tired" in that same weary tone.

"No.I'll take the first watch.You deserve some rest," she gently argued.

"I'm not tired," he lied.

Hikari sighed, knowing her brother was lying to her, but replied: "fine then.But don't stay up all night, OK?Wake me up so you can get some sleep soon."And then she lay on the ground and went to sleep.

~*~

Braul nervously entered Corth's office, fearing what was to become of him.He'd royally botched the attack on Gennai's house and allowed the children to escape.Corth was not going to be happy about that.

Corth looked up from the files he was reading through as Braul entered and to the young officer's surprise Corth smiled.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" he queried, refraining from using telepathy for the more formal verbal method of communication.

Once again, to Braul's surprise, Corth answered in telepathy: _Ah, Braul.I am glad to see you._

_ _

_Aren't you angry, sir? _He inquired, abandoning verbal speech.

_Angry?Of course I'm not angry.How old are you now, Braul?_

Now Braul was beginning to worry about the mental stability of Corth._Why do you care?_

_ _

_Just answer the question, please._

_ _

Braul hesitated, but obediently answered: _I'm eighteen.Nineteen in another month.Why does it concern you?_

_ _

_All shall reveal itself in due time.Would you be so kind as to tell me all you know of your family?_

_ _

Braul furrowed his brow, but truthfully replied: _I don't know anything of my family._

Corth nodded and switched to verbal speech: "nothing at all?"

"No.Nothing at all," Braul confirmed, also returning to verbal speech."Sir, if I can ask a question…why do you want to know?"

"Because _I _know just about all there is to know about your family."

_So this is it, _Braul thought._My punishment.I should've known._

Corth was continuing: "yes, I know your mother and your sister and most certainly your father."

"I had a sister?" Braul inquired, incredulous.

"Yes, you had a sister, as you had a mother.You _have _a father."

"I'm sorry…I don't quite understand what you're trying to get across, sir."

Corth sighed in frustration and stated: "_I'm _your father!"

The words hit Braul with the impact of a bomb.It was good news, of course it was good news, but it was astounding nonetheless.As long as he could remember he'd had no father, yet here was the man he had most respected his entire life, his father.It seemed natural, yet unnatural.Awkwardly, he left the office and walked down the hall….

~*~

"So does anybody have an idea of when we're going to get out of here?" Iori inquired of his friends from his cell.

"Who knows?Probably never," Jyou answered.

"Could you be any more negative, Jyou?" Sora muttered so quietly nobody else heard.

"I think we _can _get out of here if we can just figure out how to do it," Takeru declared.

Ken sighed and said: "just because Hikari managed to escape does not mean we will be able to.She's not even being held captive under the same force.Who knows what the conditions were like for her?"

"Still, there's got to be some way we can," Takeru argued.

"Well, if you see an exit sign in the back of your cell be sure to tell us," Jyou dryly replied.

"Yeah…tell us when you think of a way out," Sora chimed in.

"I was just saying it's got to be possible," Takeru muttered.

"Anyone think there's a chance the Ghoulinthian's will let us go?" Iori wondered.

Jyou spoke for everyone when he stated: "no."

"Then how do you suggest we get out of here?" Iori demanded.He was determined on this point and he intended to escape.

"We don't," Ken replied."Unless…"He examined the ceiling of his cell and found that, as before, it was in bad shape.

"What?" Takeru queried.

"The ceiling.Everybody, look at the ceiling in your cells.If it's as bad as it is in here it should be easy to break through."

Iori looked up to the ceiling of his cell and noted that it was indeed of poor quality._Looks like we're getting out of here after all, _he thought as he began to scrape away the rotting wood….


	10. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 10

Footsteps echoed off the walls of the Droglidite base.Mimi heard them clearly in the cell she shared with Yamato and Koushiro.Currently, she was the only one awake out of the three aforementioned people.None of them had any idea what time it was, as they were in a part of the compound with no windows.The only light came from a few bare light bulbs in the ceiling, giving the entire place a drab, gray look.

Mimi watched in interest as two guards leading a girl that looked to be about two years older than herself came into view.These was the first living people she had seen other than Koushiro and Yamato in a long time and she wondered what they were doing.She noticed that the girl's eyes burned with hatred and she was staring intently at the wall or the ceiling, never looking at the guards that had hold of her hands.

The guards lead the girl to the cell adjacent to the one she was in, opened the door and pushed the girl in unceremoniously.She stumbled and almost fell, then turned and glared at the guards as they locked the door.

"If you need anything you can always call room service," one of the guards snickered.

The girl smiled pleasantly, flicked her black her behind her shoulder and replied in a syrupy tone: "and you can just crawl into a niche in the woods and die."

Both of the guards laughed big, hearty laughs at this remark and walked down the hall.Mimi almost laughed as the girl flipped the guards off.

The girl turned toward Mimi and gasped in surprise."I didn't know I had an audience," she stated."So what are you in here for?Being different or attempting to use the right of free speech?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Mimi answered."I don't know how long I've been here, to tell you the truth."

"Yeah, well, time starts to run together when you're in here for a while.Days and weeks, they're pretty much the same thing after a while.So what's your name?Mine's Nea."

"I'm Mimi Tachikawa."

Mimi was incredibly surprised at the response she got at the mention of her name: "you're kidding me!_The _Mimi Tachikawa?The Digidestined?"

Koushiro groaned and opened his eyes at the sudden noise.He barely had time to catch a glimpse of Nea before the girl shrieked: "and are you Koushiro?Koushiro…Izumi?"

"That is correct.And who are--"

"And that one, the one that's still sleeping….That's…Yamato Ishida, right?"

"Yes," Mimi confirmed."Koushiro, this is Nea."

Koushiro nodded in recognition before asking: "you seem to have heard of us.Can you explain to us why we're here?We've been informed of the basics, but all of us would like to know more."

"Well of course _they _wouldn't want you to know!They probably made up some half-truth about them being stronger with you on their side, didn't they?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what they told us!" Mimi cried.

"Well…it's sort of true.But there's a lot more to it than that.See, they excluded the fact that you're stronger than them."

Shocked silence followed the remark.After nearly a minute of quietness, Mimi stammered: "I think m-maybe we should wake Yamato up to hear th-this, too…."She walked to the corner he was sleeping in and shook him awake.

"What?" he whispered, not happy to be woken up.His throat was still sore and he was tired.

"Thought you might want to hear this," Mimi muttered to him."OK, Nea, go ahead," she added, loud enough for the girl in the other cell to hear.

"Like I said, you, all of you are stronger than the Droglidites or the Ghoulinthians.All humans are."

Hundreds of questions were running through Yamato's mind, but he was only able to voice one at a time, and his voice was so quiet it was nearly inaudible.Somehow, he managed to whisper: "so you mean we could do whatever we wanted to around them?"

"Well…it's not as simple as that.I'm pretty sure they told you that Droglidites and Ghoulinthians are.This gives us both an advantage and a disadvantage against flesh and blood humans."

"Excuse me, did you say 'us?'" Koushiro queried."And what do you mean flesh and blood humans?Do you mean that you're all computer data?"

"No, no, not at all!We are not conceived of computer data as Digimon are.And we do not have true flesh, blood and bone like you do.We are made of gamma rays, or photons.And to answer your first question, I am a Droglidite, but I'm against them and the Ghoulinthians.I'm on the same side as you."

"That's not possible," Koushiro murmured."How can a complex living organism be conceived of photons?"

"I'm not entirely sure how it happens, but I'll try and explain as best I can.You have millions of cells in your body, which contain billions of atoms and nuclei.We do not have cells.I suppose the best word I could use for our existence is…an agreement."

"Agreement?" Yamato repeated, whispering.

"That's right.An "agreement" between every photon in our bodies to live and function as one being."She took a deep breath and continued: "since we have no cells to speak of, you are incapable of harming us.But, at the same time, we cannot directly harm you, either.At least, that's the case with most of us.Humans can harm some, a very small percentage.This also gives them the ability to harm people like you."

"Rothena," Mimi breathed."Rothena's like that, isn't she?"

Nea nodded."In theory, Yamato, your idea was correct: you can do anything you want around us…as long as we aren't armed._We can't harm you, but weapons can."_

Mimi sighed and leaned against the wall behind her.It was cool against her back.All this information was mind-boggling to her.Bits of what Nea had said didn't make sense, although she had caught enough to comprehend the meaning of it all: in most cases, they were perfectly safe from bodily harm.

~*~

Ken reached through the moderate-sized hole he had made in the faulty ceiling of his cell and pulled himself through, to the floor above.He'd had to rip an opening in a layer of carpet that was over the hole, but that task hadn't been difficult.

Now he was in a large, dark office, inches away from a ventilation shaft that led to another dark office.He looked through the hole in the wall and watched as Sora crawled through the floor, then turned away to watch as Jyou pulled himself through a second hole and into the office with him.

In silent agreement, the two of them opened the door and stepped out to the quiet hall.From the office Ken had looked into emerged Sora and Iori and from the office on the other side came Takeru.

"Lets get out of here," Iori whispered, eying a second ventilation shaft near the ceiling."I bet we could crawl through there and out of here."

Jyou nodded and quickly pulled the screen off of the hole.It wasn't a difficult task for him, as he was the tallest of the group.He and Takeru helped everyone else into the shaft before being pulled in themselves.

"We should probably be quick about this," Takeru whispered, voice ringing against the metal walls that surrounded them."Sooner or later they're going to notice we're gone.The farther away we are, the better."

"Which way do I go?" Sora inquired from her position in the front."There's a junction here."

"Take the main shaft until we get to the final junction," Ken replied from behind her."Once we reach that point, we should be very close to an exit."

Sora nodded and began crawling down the ventilation shaft….

~*~

"Everybody, wake up._Now!" Taichi hissed, shaking first his sister, then Daisuke and Miyako._

"Huh?" Daisuke muttered, rubbing his sleep heavy eyes with the palms of his hands."What's wrong?"

"The Ghoulinthians are still after us," Taichi whispered back."If you listen you can hear them.They're coming after us.We've got to get out of here."

This news was enough to snap the three previously sleeping children awake."Where can we go?" Hikari anxiously inquired.

"I don't know," Taichi replied in that same beaten voice he'd been using all night."Keep going the way we were going, I guess."

The four of them began walking quickly away from the area they had previously occupied, down the darkened forest path, none knowing where it would lead them.

From far away, they could hear the sound of hundreds of feet marching after them in the night…


	11. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate—Chapter 11

Jyou was getting a little nervous.Not only was it extremely hot in the tiny tunnel-like ventilation shaft, it was pitch black.The walls were so close on either side of him he would have been unable to turn around if he had wanted to.

He stopped crawling down the shaft for a moment to wipe a film of sweat off his forehead._How long have we been in here? _He wondered as he followed Takeru around another bend in the shaft.

"Sora, I think we might be close to the end," Ken stated, his voice tinny from resounding off the metal walls."The air current is much stronger.We should probably go down the next junction."

Sora nodded, then realized Ken probably couldn't see her in the dark so said aloud: "OK."She had found that the junctions came at about every ten feet on either side of them._The next junction should be close, _she thought._And it'll probably be on the right because the last one was on the left._

She felt along the wall with her right hand, to make sure she didn't miss the junction._And second now, any second…._The junction wasn't there.Sora felt frantically on first the right, then the left, thinking that maybe she'd managed to miss it.But no, the walls were solid.

"Why are we stopped?" Iori demanded.

"I can't find a junction," she responded, crawling a couple more feet forward and feeling along both walls._I should have found one by now, _she silently added._Something's not right._

"Sora, maybe we should go back to the junction we passed a minute ago," Takeru suggested."Maybe it was the last one."

"Wait, wait just a second," she muttered, crawling a few more feet ahead.And then she screamed as her hands were met with nothing to support them.She flailed madly, trying to move back to where the ground was solid, but found that she was stuck hanging haphazardly from a drop.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Jyou shouted.

But she was too panicked to reply other than to shriek in fear as she felt herself slipping.

"Hold on!" Ken shouted above her screaming.He crawled forward only to receive a kick in the face.He cried out in pain and his lip began to bleed.

"What happened?" Iori questioned.

Before Ken could answer Iori's question, Sora screamed again and shouted: "someone help me, please!I'm slipping!"

He crawled toward Sora again and narrowly missed getting kicked a second time."Sora, I'm going to help you.But you've got to quit kicking your legs first."

Immediately Sora stopped flailing.Ken wished he could see in the tunnel and reached out for Sora's now unmoving leg and caught her by the ankle."OK, I've got you," he said.He noticed that his voice sounded strange in the tension of the moment.

The next few things that happened were swift and unclear to him.He heard Sora slipping off the edge of the drop.She cried out in fear and instinctively kicked her legs, making Ken lose his grip on her ankle.He made a desperate lunge for her as she fell off the edge, and caught her again.But he had horribly misjudged the force of his jump and found himself also falling from the drop.

He cried out in surprise and let go of Sora's ankle, then hit a hard cement floor.The sudden impact left him stunned and for just a moment his vision went blurry.It took him a moment to realize that his other friends were asking if he and Sora were all right.

Painfully, he got to his feet and noted with relief that Sora was also standing up."We're fine," he answered as he looked around the room."And I think we've found the way out," he added, resting his eyes on a door to the outside world….

~*~

Miyako panted as she ran down the forest trail behind Hikari.She along with Daisuke, Taichi and Hikari had been running for the past hour, trying to keep the Ghoulinthians from finding them.

"Are…they still…behind…us?" she gasped.

"Yes," Daisuke replied from behind her."And they're getting closer."

Miyako concentrated on taking deep breaths in and out, picking up one foot and putting it in front of the other and not on how tired she was.She heard the footsteps behind them growing louder and louder…and then they began to fade away.

After a couple more minutes, Hikari stopped running and exclaimed: "they've stopped chasing us."

"But they _had _us!Why would they just _stop?" _Daisuke wondered aloud.

After a minute of silence in regard to Daisuke's question, Taichi muttered: "I think I know.Look through those ferns."

Miyako, Daisuke and Hikari looked in the direction Taichi had told them to and gasped in surprise.Somehow, they had managed to stumble onto the Droglidite base….


	12. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 12

(A/N: If you thought things were confusing before, wait until you read this!)

Koushiro wanted to ask Nea so many more questions he didn't know where to begin.Although he understood that the Droglidites and Ghoulinthians were composed of photons, he had no idea exactly how.Nea's explanation had left him with a very vague and shadowy understanding of how it was possible.He also wanted to know how it was possible for some of these people to have the gift (or curse?) of physical contact and others not.And how many of them were like Rothena?And why were the Ghoulinthians and Droglidites so set against each other?

All these questions and more were racing through the young prodigy's mind and all of them needed to be answered.After a minute, Koushiro chose his first question and directed it to Nea: "how many Droglidites and Ghoulinthians are able to experience physical contact like Rothena?Do you know an approximate amount?"

"Four," she promptly replied.

"Four percent of all Droglidites and Ghoulinthians?"

Nea shook her head and replied: "no, just _four."_

Yamato narrowed his eyes suspiciously and demanded: "how do you know so exactly?"

"It…it's kind of a long story."

"Well go ahead and tell it!" Mimi piped."I like stories."

Nea took a deep breath and thought: _if mom knew that I'm telling them what I'm telling them right now…._"The first of the photon-people to be formed were Rothena and her husband, Corth.At first they did not have the ability to use physical contact.They weren't even human-formed to begin with.Over the course of a couple of millennia they became human-formed.The process took such a long time and was so difficult to complete that they also acquired the ability to have physical contact and they had infinite strength.

"Of course they were delighted.They lived peacefully for a while, until Rothena gave birth to me and my brother--"

"Wait a second, you're Rothena's daughter?" Mimi broke in.

Nea nodded and continued: "anyways, as I was saying, when Rothena gave birth to me and my brother things got rocky.See, with the birth Rothena and Corth lost their infinite strength.Some of it was transferred to my brother and I.But most of it eventually formed into the other Droglidites and Ghoulinthians."

"How can lost strength form a living organism?" Koushiro demanded."You're not making any sense."

"The strength they lost was actually extra photons that were stored in their bodies.But that isn't really important until later.Rothena and Corth were furious that they had lost some of the strength they had once possessed.Every day they became more and more hostile to each other until one day they fought.Both thought the other was the cause of the loss of strength.

"The result of the fight was for them to absolutely hate each other.Both of them became bent on destroying the other and taking over the worlds first.Through sheer will they called the other photon-people to life and created armies against each other.Rothena called her people the Droglidites and Corth called his the Ghoulinthians.Rothena took me with her and Corth took my brother.

"Ever since then they have been after each other.They don't care if they destroy both worlds as long as the other person is killed in the process.The other Droglidites and Ghoulinthians are controlled by them and cannot exist without their leaders."

"So if Rothena or Corth died all their people would die, too?" Yamato inquired.

"That is correct.If Corth were killed all the other Ghoulinthians would die as well, excluding my brother and if Rothena were killed all the other Droglidites would die, excluding myself."

Mimi shivered at the tone of Nea's voice.It was cold and uncaring.Mimi knew by the way Nea had said her last sentence that the girl would feel no regrets if all the Ghoulinthians and Droglidites died.It gave her a chill that wouldn't leave.

She was shocked out of her stupor when Koushiro said: "do you hear that?"

"What?" she whispered, suddenly afraid.

"Footsteps.Someone's coming."

Mimi strained and listened.There _were _footsteps and they were definitely getting closer."Who could it be?" she fearfully breathed.

"Maybe it'll be some guards with a little food," Yamato muttered."They haven't bothered to feed us yet, maybe they're going to now."

"Yeah, or maybe they're coming to put us to work again," Koushiro replied.

But to everyone's surprise no guards appeared.Instead, Hikari, Taichi, Daisuke and Miyako came into view.

"_There _you guys are!" Miyako cried."We've been looking for you for a long time."

"Let's get you out of here," Taichi added.

Hikari smiled.The beaten tone was no longer present in her brother's voice.He once again sounded how she was used to hearing him sound.

~*~

Takeru, Sora, Ken, Jyou and Iori were running as fast as they could go, trying to get away from the Ghoulinthians.

About an hour after they had made their escape the Ghoulinthians had come after them and so now they were running away, in a panic with no way to fight back, no way to escape, no way to make it.They were in the middle of an enormous field that sported no place to hide.Plus, they were getting tired after a half hour of sprinting.

Sora was so exhausted she could no longer feel her body.The world was spinning around her and every breath she took was like a stab to her lungs.Quite suddenly she tripped and fell onto the ground.She was so tired she was unable to get back to her feet.

"Sora!" Jyou gasped.Everyone stopped and turned to the fallen girl.

"Go," she wheezed."Don't…..worry about…..me.You guys….can still….make it."

"No.We can't," Ken calmly answered.

"Why not?" Takeru queried.

Ken sighed and pointed straight ahead of them.Approaching was the Droglidite army.It was massive and just as big as the Ghoulinthian army."Does that answer your question?" he asked.


	13. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 13

Taichi was running out of ideas fast.He hadn't expected the Droglidite army to be ready and waiting for them when he along with Miyako, Daisuke, Koushiro, Yamato, Mimi, his sister and Nea left the base.But they had been and now here they all were, running away in desperation with no plan at all.And to make matters worse, the Ghoulinthian army was straight ahead of them and closing the gap fast.

From beside him, Nea murmured: "just a warning, when the Droglidite and Ghoulinthian armies come together they're going to try to destroy each other.I suggest we get out of the way."

Taichi gasped._She's right! _He thought._They're going to kill each other…and kill us, too if we don't get out of here.Maybe if we just ran to one side…._Aloud, he shouted: "come on!This way!Quick!" as he diverted his direction toward one of the edges of the meadow that was lined with dense trees.

From the left the Droglidites were coming forward, from the right the Ghoulinthians.The trees were fifty yards away, then forty, thirty, twenty….And quite suddenly they were out of the meadow and standing in the forest that lined it.

"Hikari, Yamato, Mimi, Daisuke, Koushiro, Miyako Taichi, get over here!" came a familiar voice.

"Ken?" Miyako wonderingly inquired.

"Yes!Hurry!You've got to get out of the Ghoulinthian's and Droglidite's sight!"

None of them needed to be told twice.In less than a minute all seven former Digidestined and Nea had found their friends.

"Hikari!" Takeru happily cried as he raced to her and hugged her."I thought…oh, God, I thought you'd died!"

"You're all OK!" Daisuke rejoiced, too happy by the voiced fact to notice Takeru hugging Hikari."We were so worried about all of you!"

"Who's that?" Iori demanded, directing a wary gaze at Nea.

"Oh, it's all right, she's on our side," Mimi answered.She along with Yamato and Koushiro quickly explained what they knew about Nea, Nea herself added bits of the story here and there.

When they had finished, Sora responded with: "glad to hear you're on our side, Nea."

Jyou sighed and said: "you know, I hate to be a downer, but we're not out of danger yet.If the Ghoulinthians and Droglidites are out there fighting there could be some serious problems."

"Unfortunately, that is correct," Koushiro answered."Unless the fighting ends very quickly there's going to be extreme destruction.The meadow is going to be totally destroyed, and this forest with it I'm willing to bet."

"Then let's get out of here," Miyako suggested.

Nea shook her head and replied: "there's no way we could get far enough away.Our only hope is if this war ends quickly."

There was a moment of silence following this remark, then Hikari stated: "something's been bugging me for a while now.Where are the Digimon?"

"Good question," Yamato retorted."Where _are _the Digimon?"

~*~

__Braul smiled.This was it.The final battle between the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians.He was ready.Adrenaline was pumping through his body and he was shaking with excitement.He could hardly wait for the battle to begin.And begin it would, in less than five minutes.

Victory would most certainly be theirs.There was no way the Droglidites would be able to compete with them.

From beside him, Corth said: "Braul, go into the forest.Now."

"But I want to fight, Father," he indignantly answered.

"Go.Now.No questions asked."

Braul set his jaw, but did as his father asked and left the meadow that would soon become a battlefield.It was the most embarrassing moment of his life.

~*~

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the Digital World an enormous black crystal begins to glow faintly.The light is pulsating, weak and fleeting.As the Ghoulinthians and Droglidites draw closer to the battle a hairline crack appears on the surface of the crystal…._

_ _

_ _

~*~

Nea slipped away from the group of Digidestined's quietly and disappeared into the forest.There were parts of the story she had refrained from telling the children.Parts that if told, could mean the destruction of both worlds.

She had not included the fact that if Rothena and Corth died while she and her brother were still alive the balance between light and dark would be thrown terribly awry.So badly shaken the balance would be that it would mean both worlds would be plunged into everlasting darkness.That is…_if _she and her brother were still alive.

The pistol in inside pocket of her coat thumped against her leg with every step she took.It was loaded and very much capable of killing.And she was looking for Braul….

~*~

Rothena smiled.She and Corth were standing so close to each other their noses were practically touching.A hush had fallen over the meadow and a tenseness was in the air as the Ghoulinthians and Droglidites watched their respective leaders intently.

It seemed that moment in time would stay, frozen forever, neither side ever moving toward the other.A light wind kicked up and Rothena's long black hair brushed against Corth's arms.He almost felt guilty for wanting her to die.Because he knew that he still loved her.But then she spat in his face.

The spittle dripped down his left cheek and he wiped it away.Slowly, deliberately, he raised his hand and pointed toward the Droglidite forces.Rothena did the same, although she pointed at the Ghoulinthian forces.

There was a final instant of silence…and then all Hell broke loose….

~*~

_The light was stronger now, the crack slightly larger.As the battle began the light became steadier and ever more brighter…._


	14. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction.Thanks and enjoy!

Fate--Chapter 14

Hikari felt faint and lightheaded.Lights were dancing in front of her eyes and blurring her vision. She felt like she was running a high fever.From far away, she heard Mimi say: "where's Nea?"

"She was here just a second ago," Takeru answered, although, his voice was also strangely distant.

Hikari brought a hand up to her forehead and closed her eyes, hoping to alleviate the sick feeling.It didn't help.If anything, it made the feeling worse.

Had she been able to see properly, she would have noticed that her hand was glowing with a faint pink radiance.And it wasn't only her hand; her entire body was shining with the light.

Yamato was saying: "you guys don't think she could've been against us the whole time?" when Hikari suddenly pitched forward onto the ground.

"Hikari!" Taichi cried.He knelt next to his sister, then gasped in alarm and pain as the pink light radiating from her body became a blinding white that stung his eyes.

All of the eleven other Digidestined's shielded their eyes against the bright light.Daisuke stepped blindly forward and took Hikari's hand, then quickly pulled his hand away and cursed loudly.Either the powerful light or Hikari herself had burned his hand.

"What's happening?" Sora fearfully shouted.

But nobody got a chance to answer because at that moment the first sounds of the battle were heard and the light became even stronger.

~*~

_The enormous black crystal was glowing, like Hikari, and cracking apart.And it was no longer black.It was now a pure white…._

_ _

_ _

~*~

Nea pushed her way forward, through a clump of ferns and stopped suddenly.There, in front of her, was Braul.He looked disappointed and angry and when he laid eyes on her he gasped in surprise and rage.

"Get out of here, Droglidite!" he hissed.

She ignored the way he spit the word Droglidite as though it was to be meant as the worst insult possible and replied: "I knew he'd send you here."

"He?He who?"

"Our father.Corth."

A look of utter hatred and pure rage came into Braul's eyes as he replied: "get away from here before I do something you'll regret!"

"Oh, come now, is that any way to speak to a member of the family?More specifically, your sister."

Nea's last comment drove Braul over the edge.He charged toward her in a blind hatred and lashed out, hitting her forcefully across the face.

She reeled back from the blow and her black hair flew.And then, she straightened and brought her hand to the place where Braul had hit her, just under her left eye.A thin trickle of blood dripped through her fingers."If I'm not your sister, then you do you explain this?" she queried, taking her hand away to expose the deep gash under her eye.

~*~

The light ever so slowly dimmed, enough for the Digidestined to open their eyes without being blinded.Takeru was the first to open his eyes and he saw Hikari slowly sit up.She was still glowing and her face looked strange, as though she had forgotten how to express her feelings through facial features.

"Hikari?" he tentatively questioned.

The girl looked toward him, but her eyes remained expressionless.And then, in a voice not her own, she responded: "no."

The seven other original Digidestined immediately recognized the voice; it was the voice of the light force that had taken control of Hikari's body when they had been trying to defeat the Dark Masters.

Hikari continued: "I am sorry to have to take control of Hikari's body once again, but there are certain things you must be made aware of and she is the only one I can communicate with all of you through."

"Where are the Digimon?Do you know?" Miyako demanded.

"They have been sealed away ever since Rothena and Corth came into being.Their being alive misbalanced the light and dark force tremendously.So, to restore the balance, a dark crystal was created.It is inside of that crystal that your Digimon live now.But fear not for them, as this is the final battle between the Droglidites and Ghoulinthians.When Rothena and Corth no longer exist, the crystal shall also be destroyed.Your Digimon will be free."

"But--what about Nea?And her brother?" Ken asked."If Rothena and Corth's existence caused a disturbance in the balance of dark and light won't theirs do the same if the crystal doesn't counter-act it?"

"You are right.Nea and her brother are a danger to both worlds.She knows this, while he does not.But you need not worry about them.Nea is taking care of it as we speak.

"I must go now, young Digidestined.Watch the battle, for you are safe from harm."

With that, the bodiless entity left Hikari's body and the girl fell to the ground.

~*~

Rothena laughed maniacally in the heat of the battle.Droglidites were breaking through Ghoulinthian defenses, breaking through to their hateful leader, Corth.And soon that evil, horrible Corth would be no more.

But then something happened…something Rothena could not explain.There came a pull on her heart and suddenly it was as though a veil had been whipped from in front of her eyes.In reality, a veil had been removed from in front of her eyes, a veil of hate that shrouded her senses.A deep sense of guilt washed over her and she gasped.

And the next sight she saw made her scream because it broke her newly born heart to pieces.Corth was shot.A look of shock came across his features and he dropped down to his knees, then to the ground.He touched the viscous wound with a shaking hand and she saw him wince.

She ran through the battle, the only thought in her mind to reach Corth.Tears were flooding from her eyes, blurring her vision, but she didn't need to see to know where Corth was.

When she reached his side she quickly dropped down to her knees and sobbed: "I was stupid!Corth, I was so stupid!I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Corth barely lifted his head to look at her, although he made the slightest effort to smile."Hello, Rothena," he rasped.

~*~

"I demand an explanation!" Braul bellowed.

"And I will gladly present one to you," Nea answered, the faintest hint of a smile playing across her lips."It shall take quite some time to tell you all you need to know.And time is something I have very little of at the moment."

"You're right.You don't have any time at all," he replied, curling his hand into a fist and advancing on her.

"On the contrary, I have an eternity," she coolly said, whipping out the pistol and pointing it at Braul."You will have that explanation soon.Forgive me, dear brother."

With that, she pulled the trigger.The bullet soared true and hit its mark, right between Braul's eyes.A look of shock was on his face, and then he disappeared completely.

There was one bullet left, and Nea had planned it that way.With a deep, shuddering sigh, she turned the gun on herself.She could see the hole in the barrel less than an inch away from her face.And then, with a sound like a mini-explosion, she pulled the trigger.For a billionth of a second she saw the round ball of steel that would end her life and then it buried itself in her head.She dropped the gun as she fell and then she disappeared, leaving the clearing empty, save for the now ammunition-free gun.

~*~

"Hikari, are you all right?" Taichi gently inquired of his sister as she opened her eyes.

"Of course I'm OK.Why wouldn't I be?" she answered.

As quickly as possible, her friends filled her in on what they had heard while the light force was using her body.

"So _that's _where Gatomon and the others were," she exclaimed when they had finished."That's been bugging me ever since we got here."

"I suggest we watch the battle, as the light force instructed us to," Koushiro said.

All agreed and raced off to watch the final events of the battle unfold.

~*~

"Corth you're going to be all right," Rothena whimpered, laying her hand atop the ugly wound below his ribs.

"Rothena, don't," he whispered.He knew what she was going to try and do and he couldn't stand the thought.

"I have to.You have to live because--because…I love you," Rothena unsteadily replied.A golden radiance surrounded them and she felt her life flowing into him and his flowing into her.Their hearts were beating at the same pace; their blood was flowing at the same speed.She was going to sacrifice herself for him and she knew it.

"I love you, too, Rothena," he whispered.He closed his eyes.He knew the only thing keeping him alive was the energy that Rothena was transferring to him.And soon she would have no energy left to give him.

Slowly, he opened his eyes--to see a Ghoulinthian racing toward Rothena, wielding a sword."Rothena, look out," he shouted.

But he was too late.He watched as the sword pierced through her body and she fell forward on top of him with a slight gurgling noise.

The Ghoulinthian withdrew the sword and saluted to Corth before he and all the other Droglidites disappeared.

"Goodbye, Corth," Rothena said in a voice so weak he could barely hear her."I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered back.And then, their blood stopped flowing, their hearts stopped beating and they died together.

~*~

_The black crystal shattered in a burst of golden light.The twelve Digimon were surprised, yet happy to be free once again…._

_ _

_ _

~*~

There was an explosion of bright gold light that forced the Digidestined to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded.

"What was that?" Iori wondered aloud after the light faded.

Before anyone could offer a speculation to what the light could have been, Jyou shouted: "it's over!"

"What?What do you mean it's over?" Daisuke demanded.

Yamato replied: "take a look at the meadow.Empty.Totally empty.It's _over_."

"Poor Nea," Mimi sniffled, wiping away a tear for their lost friend.

"So now what?We just go home and forget this whole thing ever happened?" Sora questioned.

Hikari shook her head and answered: "no.I'll never forget this.I think…I think that this happened for a reason.We've got remember."

THE END

(A/N: #1: I can't believe this story is finished!Thanks to everyone who reviewed or read this.Well, I've gotten a few other ideas for a story, so I'll be putting something new out soon. 

#2: Does anyone remember the character "Ruki" in my story "New Threats?"At the time I was writing the story I knew nothing about season 03.I thought I was making the name up.Well, one of the new characters in Digimon 03 has the name Ruki!Scary, ne?

#3: Um…there is no three.So that means you can stop listening to my mindless babble!J)


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